Weekend Cook and Tell Round Up: Legacy of the Lentil

Last week on our Weekend Cook and Tell challenge we asked all of you to consider the humble lentil, that lowly wallflower of the legume world. Instead of relegating it to the unglamorous world of vegetarian bulker-upper, we were looking for recipes that glorified this plain pulse, ones that transformed the little lentil into something truly thrilling.

As per usual, our innovative cast of Cook and Tellers came through once again with all sorts of recipes that let the lentil truly shine. Here's a look at your gussied-up lentils.

A trip to Egypt left zahavah a taste for koshary: a mix of rice, lentils, chickpeas, and pasta topped with tomato sauce. She got her fix by creating a homemade version with French Lentils and tangy sumac. Sumac also found its way into zahavah's Red Lentil Soup, another inspiration from her trip to Cairo. Last but certainly not least, zahavah shared an Salata Idan, an East African Fusion Lentil Dip made in honor of Idan Raichel, an Israeli singer-songwriter who celebrates the diversity of Israel's people.

Felila keeps dal from being dull with the addition of Amchoor, a sour mango powder as well as a bright green chutney of cilantro, mint, red onion, garlic, chiles, lemon juice, and raw sugar

Giving credit where credit is due, smsingram has to thank Mark Bittman for a family favorite, Curried Lentil Stew. Of course smsingram has tweaked the original formula by adding vegetable broth, coconut milk, Madras curry, and potatoes for a silky, ultra savory wintertime staple.

A big thank you to everyone who sorted and rinsed their lentils for this week's Weekend Cook and Tell challenge. Be sure to head over to Talk and read about next week's challenge: Thanksgiving Pregame.